From a small office of six to the largest private trade credit insurer in town

Allianz Trade in Hong Kong was pleased to celebrate its 25-year anniversary yesterday, hosting a glittering dinner event which was well attended by nearly 100 guests including business and media partners.

Known as Hermes Credit Underwriters (“Hermes”) at the time, a small office of six first opened its doors in Central in 1999. Despite being a household name in Europe, the Hermes brand was relatively unknown in Hong Kong and the office opening was merely its first foray into Asia Pacific. In 2003, Hermes became Euler Hermes following a merger and acquisition. After being acquired by Allianz in 2018, Euler Hermes ultimately rebranded into Allianz Trade in 2022. Today, Allianz Trade in Hong Kong is not only the largest private trade credit solutions provider in the city, it is also a business hub quarterbacking operations in Taiwan and South Korea.

Edmond Lee, General Manager of Allianz Trade in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, remarks, “It was an emotional and humbling evening for the company, attended by our most valued colleagues, business partners and media friends. On behalf of the entire Hong Kong staff, I would like to convey our gratitude to Allianz Trade Group for their trust and support over the past 25 years, and especially to a few of our colleagues who have been with us since the early days. Their dedications and expertise have undoubtedly helped shape our company into what we are today.”

“Over the years, I have witnessed our operation in Hong Kong transformed into a multi-faceted business model by widening its distribution channels, from initially a broker-driven business to encompassing partnerships with financial institutions and a solid portfolio of direct businesses. Through consistently improving processes and systems, I am also proud to say that our customer service has been praised the best in the industry, as reflected in our historically high client retention rates. This bodes well for our motto: keeping customers happy, large or small,” Mr Lee adds. 

Reminiscing challenges faced over the years, Mr Lee continues, “The quarter-century was not always smooth sailing, obviously, the Covid-19 pandemic was unlike anything we have seen. Despite these challenges, the city’s exports had endured the longest streak of declines, we stepped up in supporting our customers to trade and managed to achieve business growth during that period. Looking ahead, I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to be an integral part of regional trade. We are more committed than ever to help Hong Kong and local exporters to reach new heights through our tailored trade credit solutions.”